Hyderabad, February, 2005: A.P’s first Retail Academy Reach India Retail Academy has been launched recently here in city. Disclosing this addressing a press conference Reach academy informed that Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh is today one of the most happening place in the country. Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle,Central Mall, I-Max, Spencer’s Hyper Market, Music World, Food World, Big Bazar and many more there is a pressing demand for trained manpower in retail management in the state. Already the city Hyderabad is regarded as Shoppers Paradise.

All most all the major retail outlets have their major presence such as Tanishq, Glow, Lee, Nike, Adidas etc and others in the state of Andhra Pradesh and many more are expected in near future. This paves a way for an academy to impart skills in retail management. In this light of background, Reach is launched here in city recently.

A joint venture of Franchise India Holdings Ltd, Reach Academy and Innovative Consulting( a Hyderabad based consulting firm which helped about 550 companies to establish and run their business successfully) Reach Indian Retail Academy will run diploma courses as well as customised training modules based on the need of the customers. Reach Academy with a base at Chennai has been in this field for the past 18 years and has trained about 7,500 graduates and under graduates so far, who are found placements in some of the best retail outlets such as Airtel, Asian Paints, Pepsi,ABN-AMRO Bank, Samsung, Philips India etc in the country.

According to some published sources of information,presently, the Indian retail business employs nearly 21 million people, which is around 7 per cent of total employment. Although the country has around 12 million retail outlets, which is the largest in the world, the share of organized retailing is merely 2 per cent.This compares quite poorly with USA where it is as high as 80 per cent, West European countries where it is 70 per cent, and Brazil where it is 40 per cent.Thus, there’s huge scope for the growth of the organized sector in India. Surprisingly, in China which opened its economy not much earlier than India,the share of organized retailing now stands at 20 per cent, though it too has a very large number of small shops and the distribution system is as fragmented as India’s. However, the good news is that in India too the trend towards organized retailing and setting up of large outlets is gaining momentum.

Retail sales in India in 2002 amounted to about Rs.7400-8400 bn (USD 160-180 bn). Between 2003 and 2008, retail sale in real terms is predicted to grow more rapidly than consumer expenditure across the country. The forecast growth in real retail sales during 2003 to 2008 is 8.3 per cent per year, compared to 7.1 per cent for consumer expenditure. According to KSA Technopak, a leading consulting firm, the organised sector will grow to almost Rs. 30, 000 crores by 2005, representing 6 per cent of the total retail market.

Organised retailing in India has the potential of creating over 2 million new (direct) jobs within the next six years, assuming an 8 to 10 per cent share of organized retailing in the total retail business.Although organized retailing in India is in its nascent stage, the employment potential can be appraised from the expansion plans of just one retailer, Chennai-based, a leading consumer durable retailer. It plans to expand beyond the southern markets within three years. According to a company source, in 2004-05 alone it will add 20 stores to its current network of 43. In terms of employment generation, an additional 20 stores mean requirement of 200 personnel for frontline and 100 for back-end operations. In addition, a large number of indirect jobs will be created.

Similarly, Pantaloon Retail India plans to add 22 Big Bazaars, 23 Food Bazaars, 8 Pantaloons and 3 Central Malls over the next two years. In several countries,organized retailing is also a source of forex earning.Highly developed retail formats in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Dubai, etc have made them important shopping destinations and bolstered tourism. For instance, for the last few years now Dubai has been organizing the much talked about Dubai Shopping Festival. This festival has drawn 5 million tourists and generated USD 10 million in retail expenditure. Thus the growth of organized retailing in India will mean new jobs, higher incomes, better a healthier economy.

With so many supermarkets and shopping malls coming up at an increasing pace, retail management is possibly one of the fastest growing careers. The Indian retail segment is one of the largest in the world; a joint report by McKinsey and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has pegged the Indian retail market at $180 billion. And though it has a long way to go as far as organised retailing is concerned, it is growing at a steady rate of 11-12 per cent and accounts for around 10 per cent of the country's GDP. In fact, AT Kearney places India 6th in the global retail development index, and CII predicts that 1,000-1,500 stores will be coming up in each of the metros in the next year. Certainly, a career with great potential!

Retail management involves understanding and interacting directly with the customer in a store so as to be able to provide him/her the product closest to what he/she wants. A retail manager, therefore,plans and co-ordinates the operations of retail outlets, be it small franchisees like specialty shops,fast food chains, or sections of supermarkets or department stores. This would involve determining the layout of merchandise so that it is presented as attractively as possible, monitoring the stock levels,placing orders and managing the supply chains and keeping and analysing records of sales figures and financial transactions. A retail manager is also expected to maintain a high level of customer service by observing customer preferences and ensuring that complaints are quickly resolved. REACH India Retail Academy aims to impart these and many more skills as part of the training program. Hyderabad city with many retail outlets and many more yet to come and fast developing cities like Vijayawada and Vizag have already become a destinations for many retail outlets.

This will augur good to trained personnel.Opportunities are a plenty in this field. Departmental stores, designer boutiques, fast food chains, super markets, company stores, music stores, lectronics showrooms, automobile dealers all employ retail managers. Starting salaries are in the range of Rs72,000-1 lakh pa. In a couple of years, they will be earning around Rs 2-2.5 lakh pa. MBAs from premier business schools can start at Rs 6 lakh pa, while other MBAs are paid in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh pa.Often these figures are inclusive of the basic salary and other performance based incentives.

The industry is set for a boost with the entry of big industrial corporations into the retailing sector.Rising incomes and improvement in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets. The companies, which are in the field for about 5 years, are also going for massive expansion drives. Domino's pizza chain isplanning to set up 100 new stores in the next two years. Shopper's Stop is expanding in cities like Calcutta, Delhi, and others. RPG group's Music World and Food World is also expanding fast.

Besides this, another interesting opportunity is overseas placements. Half the retail workers in US are looking to change jobs this year. Many firms in US look at India’s recruitment plans to fuel the retail boom.

According to a survey by Chicago-based careerbuilder, 46 per cent of retail workers in the United States will be shopping around for a new job this year. The survey reveals that retail workers are motivated by the desire to increase pay, find a more satisfying work experience and move their careers forward.
 

Reachout's News Bureau
Feb'05